PLANS to build 12 'close care' units at a nursing home in Davenham have been approved.

Bosses at Davenham Hall Nursing Home say the units are a new concept which offer advantages over traditional sheltered housing schemes and act almost as a 'halfway' house for people who don't want to move into a home.

It will be a self-contained community within the grounds of the existing home and will enable older people who might not otherwise consider residential care, the chance to stay independent, secure in the knowledge that help is nearby.

Davenham Parish Council said the proposal was 'out of character with the existing listed building' which they said was a 'serious concern', even though the plans had been amended from 16 units to 12.

Though approved by members of Vale Royal Borough Council's planning committee this week, the matter has been referred to planning chiefs at Whitehall for comments as it marks a departure from the Local Plan being in the open countryside.

A report to the committee said: 'The applicant has clearly demonstrated a significant need for this type of accommoation.'